Browns lay an egg in another season opener

Editor's note: Tony Grossi is a Cleveland Browns analyst for TheLandOnDemand.com and 850 ESPN Cleveland. He has covered the Browns since 1984.

Instant takeaways from Browns’  33-17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys …

1. Green eggs and ham: The Browns finally put their regular players in game action. Too bad the preseason ended two weeks ago. The new-look Browns offense laid a giant egg in the season opener, trolling a revved-up home crowd into a disgusted, booing one. The Browns scored a field goal on their first possession and then false-started, illegal motioned and pitty-patted while the Cowboys rolled up 27 straight points en route to a soul-smashing, 33-17 defeat. Deshaun Watson was errant all day, except for one TD series. He threw several balls out of the end zone, out of bounds or out of reach. Watson was sacked six times and hit hard after throws on several occasions, including once on the inside of his right shoulder while throwing on the run in the fourth quarter and another time squarely on his breast bone after a throw that Amari Cooper dropped in the end zone. The QB achieved only one first down while the Cowboys built their insurmountable lead. Jerome Ford had a 2-yard TD run in the final 30 seconds with Huntington Bank Field almost empty. For the game, Watson was 24 of 45 for 169 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 interceptions and a 51.1 passer rating.

2. No help: Not that the offense received any help from the defense and special teams. The defense gave up only two offensive touchdowns, but couldn’t produce a takeaway to staunch the Dallas momentum. And the special teams gave up a 60-yard punt return for a touchdown to KaVontae Turpin, among other bad plays. Brandon Aubrey kicked field goals of 57 yards, 50, 50 and 46 for the Cowboys. A would-be NFL record-tying 66-yarder was erased by a delay of game penalty. The Browns were whistled for 12 accepted penalties.

3. Finally, cheers: Watson finally quieted boos from the restless crowd on his second possession of the second half, down 27-3. A 15-yard completion to Jerry Jeudy with 12:13 to play in the third quarter was the Browns’ longest offensive play and second first down of the afternoon. A bullet over the middle to David Njoku gained 29 yards and across mid-field. Njoku was hit hard after the catch and left the game with an ankle injury. Watson connected with Amari Cooper and then he tossed a 6-yard TD to Jeudy breaking just inside the goal line on the right to close the deficit to 27-10 (after the PAT).

4. Not ready: In their first, first half together – they didn’t play at all in preseason – the Browns’ offense accumulated a grand total of 1 first down and 54 net yards. They were 0 for 6 on third down conversions. Watson was sacked once by Micah Parsons and Parsons also deflected a Watson pass that was intercepted by linebacker Eric Kendricks. Watson was 7 of 15 for 36 yards and ran 1 time for 8 yards. The Browns had 23 rushing yards on 6 attempts.

5. Playing with fire: Jack Conklin’s sprint to get to the starting line fell short. After taking reps at left tackle on a limited basis this week, the veteran was made inactive. Evidently, his surgically repaired left knee did not react to the practice time the way the Browns’ medics wanted. Jedrick Wills was ruled out earlier in the week. As a result, the Browns began the game with James Hunter at left tackle, Dawand Jones at right tackle and practice squad call-up Germain Ifedi as the only substitute tackle active for the game. Jones was called for two penalties in the first half and Hudson one. With five minutes left in the first half, Jones left the field and Ifedi had to come in. On the next play, Watson was hit as he threw and almost intercepted. Jones returned on the next offensive series.

6. Unspecial teams: Bubba Ventrone’s special teams started with a bang – a 28-yard punt return by Jaelon Darden, which turned out to be the longest play in a drive resulting in a 51-yard field goal by Dustin Hopkins. But after that, the special teams had three negative plays in the first half. A Dallas kickoff touched the landing area and wasn’t recovered by the Browns before it scooted out of the end zone, penalizing the Browns with a drive start at the 20. Then, Corey Bojorquez had a bad punt of 33 yards to set up a short field and 57-yard Brandon Aubrey field goal. Finally, a 20-yard punt return by Dallas’ KaVontae Turpin at the end of half almost resulted in Dallas points, but a 66-yard field goal by Aubrey was called off for delay of game. It would have tied the NFL record held by Justin Tucker for longest field goal ever. Things got worse in the second half. After the Browns went three-and-out on their first possession, Turpin returned a punt 60 yards for a touchdown.

7. But what about that game start?: Darden’s punt return was part of an opening script to the game that couldn’t have gone much better. Dallas took first possession and was forced to punt in three plays. Dalvin Tomlinson’s pancake sack of Prescott had the crowd roaring on its feet. The Browns had to settle for Hopkins’ long field goal, however, when Jones false-started with Stefanski green-lighting a fourth-and-2 play from the Cowboys’ 28.

8. Injuries: Tight end David Njoku (ankle), linebacker Tony Fields (ankle) and linebacker Mohamoud Diabate (hip) left the game with injuries.

9. Pre-game notes: Besides Conklin, other Browns inactives were quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, cornerback Kahleef Hailassie, cornerback Myles Harden, defensive end Isaiah McGuire, guard Javion Cohen and offensive tackle Jedrick Wills.